So, my van was overheating after approx. 7 - 10 min. of idling or driving 2 miles or so. We found a split in a hose and replaced it and found the thermostat was stuck so we replaced that too. It is still overheating and the heat doesn't work, but there is no coolant loss anywhere. Oil is not milky, no fizzy air bubbles in the radiator BUT I noticed that the little hose inside the coolant reservoir or overflow tank is blowing out bubbles into the tank. (It looked like the water was boiling). Any ideas? Blown head gasket? Bad water pump? Air in the lines somewhere? And how do you tell? Also, there's a left and right head gasket, so how do you know which one is blown if that's the case? Please help! We cannot afford to put it in the shop or to waste any money on parts we don't need. Any advice appreciated!

9 Answers

Was it overheating before doing the recent work to it? If not sounds like
the coolant level is low or you have air trapped in cooling system. Make
sure you got all the air out of the cooling system. These things will
cause the issues you are having.

It was overheating before. It ran hot and we found the split hose
(steam going everywhere) and heat not working, so we changed out
the hose (the hose ran up to the thermostat. It was still overheating,
so we changed the thermostat (we boil tested it to make sure it was
working properly). Still overheating, check engine light on with a little
hesitation in the engine and the engine sounds a little weird. It also
vibrates a little when I drove it down the road to see if it's still
overheating. It's so confusing. It wasn't hesitating or vibrating or
sounding funny until we put the thermostat in. I'm so confused right
now...LOL! The reservoir tank is full and the rad appears to be full
also.

With vehicle idling and warmed up check the large upper radiator hose.
Is it collapsed or real spongy feeling? If so then you have low coolant
level. If coolant level is full the hose will feel hard/firm when engine is
warmed up.

So, I drove it down the road and back and now the coolant level has
dropped in the reservoir. I but the hose you mentioned is firm. I don't
see anywhere where it could be leaking....meaning I don't see any spray
anywhere or pools or puddles anywhere. Checked the oil again and it's
still clean....and nothing coming out of the tailpipe that's not supposed to.

Your Answer

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